MO legislature sends doctor discipline bill to governor

Members of the Missouri Board of Registration for the Healing Arts said state law made it difficult for them to keep the public safe from dangerous doctors. Soon, they may have a state law that gives them a little more muscle. On Friday, the Missouri Legislature sent Gov. Jay Nixon a bill that would give the board more power to suspend incompetent and impaired doctors and provide patients with more information about their doctors. The reforms were inspired by a Post-Dispatch investigation last year that found the state's policing of doctors to be among the nation's most lax and least transparent. Nixon said he was still reviewing the bill but said it was "a step forward in clarifying and strengthening many sections of the law to help better discipline bad doctors and improve patient safety." If the governor signs the bill, it will take effect Aug. 28.